Hamilton veterans, mayor lay wreath at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

HAMILTON — Throughout his active duty during World War II and his 37 years serving the United States military, retired Army Col. Frank Caprario has lost several friends. But this month, during a trip to Arlington National Cemetery, he lost his ability to speak.

Caprario was one of nearly 50 veterans who joined Hamilton Mayor Kelly Yaede on a trip to the sacred military ground earlier this month to honor those who have fallen and to place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

“It’s just unbelievable what you see now. It’s just a sea of crosses. It’s so impressive,” Caprario said. “I just can’t find the words to really describe it. It’s overpowering, really. Of course, you just get a sentimental feeling about the whole thing — if I walked around too much it’d make me cry.”

Caprario wasn’t the only veteran on the trip overcome with emotion. Retired Army Staff Sgt. Brian Davis echoed his sentiment.

“It was a great experience,” Davis said. “I’d never been there before, seeing the change of guard at the ceremony. It was very impressive, the fact that they have this for the soldiers that someone might’ve forgotten about. They have that tomb there so people will never forget.”

Still, for the military men attending the trip — who fought in battles from World War II to present-day Iraq and Afghanistan — the journey was a chance to reflect not only on others, but on their own experiences. The group traded war stories during much of the three-hour bus ride to Virginia and spent time learning about each others’ histories.

For Davis, that included time in the Middle East after the first Gulf War.

“It was a good experience,” said Davis, who is now a police officer, of his time in the military. “I got direction in my life. Beforehand, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. But when I got back, with that life experience — being out in the desert, you don’t have luxuries we have here — it gave me a new perspective on life, to learn to appreciate everything I have.”

Ninety-four-year-old Caprario was stationed in an infantry unit in Europe during World War II and was awarded a Bronze Star for his efforts. When he got home, he continued his service as a member of the National Guard. Still, what the president of the Hamilton Township Patriotic Committee said he’s most thankful for is getting out of the war alive — and living long enough to raise his family. Taking his daughter on the trip to Arlington was an especially bright moment for him, Caprario said.

“I just thought to myself, I went through the war in the infantry unit, and here I am, still, at 94, thanks to God, still here,” he said. “It was wonderful to have my daughter there. She was so proud. And to me, it was just wonderful, as her dad, to see how impressed she was.”

Caprario himself was proud of the opportunity he had to lay the wreath of flowers on the tomb along with the mayor, he said.

“I considered it an extreme honor to be selected by the mayor to do that with her,” Caprario said. “The day was a most rewarding and memorable day for me, and it was really an honor to be remembered as a World War II veteran and to be given the honor of assisting the mayor in presenting the wreath.”